REVIEW: If Only You by Chloe Liese

If Only You by Chloe Liese: Ziggy is tired of being treated like a baby, even though she is the youngest Bergman sibling she is so done being wrapped up in cotton wool by everyone. As the youngest player in the National Soccer Team Ziggy is ready to reinvent herself with a bit more of an edgy image, which is how she finds herself striking up a deal with her brothers best friend Sebastian Gauthier a well known bad boy.

Seb is used to being the teams bad boy and for the most part he has played into his image but this last altercation was just one too many for his reputation to handle. With his place on the hockey team on the line Seb has no choice but to rehab his image or face losing the one thing that he truly loves. Which is how he finds himself in a fake friends with benefits with his best friends shy younger sister Ziggy. But what happens when what was supposed to be a safe only friends relationship begins to feel a lot like something more serious…

The Bergman siblings have been a firm favourite of mine for a while now and I was super thrilled to get my hands on Ziggy’s book. As the baby of the family we have been getting to see bits of her in the previous books so now to finally get to read her story was an absolute treat. This book combined all of the things that I love about this series with one super cute friends to forever bond.

Ziggy was such a cute leading lady. I loved seeing her grow out of her shy more timid side and really becoming a confident woman. It was nice getting to see her as her own person and not just the youngest Bergman sibling. More than this I loved that Seb saw the real her, the side that not even her family saw. As for our hero Sebastian was just book perfection. I’m a total sucker for the damaged hero trope and this was our boy Seb to a tee. I loved getting to see him on his road to redemption and really getting to see him get comfortable in showing his softer side, because gosh for all his rough and grouchy exterior he was actually a total softie inside. My heart just melted with all the small things that he would do for Ziggy. This guy well and truly stole my heart.

These two characters were just everything! I loved them to bits and getting to see them in their full glory. It was such a treat getting to see them going from just friends to forming this special bond to lovers. One of the things I really liked about these two characters was that they both queer and we got to see them both express their sexuality. The banter between these two was so on point and I loved seeing them going back and forth while growing their relationship. I loved the soft tender bond that they created.

If you have been following this series then If Only You is going to be a total treat to read, not only do we get loads of cameo from the rest of the Bergman family but we finally get to see two of the best characters truly find their worth. If Only You is a definite must read!

Book Info:

Publication: April 11, 2023 | Chloe Liese | Bergman Brothers #6

Ziggy

I’m the youngest player on the National Soccer team, the baby of my family, and thoroughly sick of being underestimated, so I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. Which is where my brother’s best friend and teammate, the infamous Sebastian Marchand, comes in.

Seb needs to rehab his reputation. I want to give mine an edge. So I propose a fake friendship with real benefits: spending time in the public eye, my good-girl image and his bad-boy notoriety rubbing off on each other. He’s my devious, dark-haired fantasy come to life, but his destructive ways make it easy to keep him in the (fake) friend zone. Or so I thought, until I start to see the heart of gold he’s been hiding beneath that sinister surface…

Sebastian

Like any self-respecting reprobate, I’ve been spiraling downward, and finally I’ve hit rock bottom. My hockey career and sponsorships are in jeopardy, and while I’m not ready to actually reform my ways, I’m happy to pretend that I have, to secure the life I’m on the brink of losing.

So when my best friend’s sister, Ziggy Bergman, proposes a public “friendship” to revamp our reputations, it’s an offer I can’t refuse. Up till now, I’ve stayed away from Ren’s sweet, shy little sister to avoid any risk of ruining my one good friendship. But I reassure myself there’s no risk in our scheme. I’ll fake a friendship with Ziggy, fix my reputation, and get back to hockey, the one and only thing I love. At least, it was, until what began as a transactional arrangement became the most loving relationship I’ve ever known.